We have many very good reasons to mourn the passing of Neville Wran AC, QC, and former premier of NSW, because it was his influence that dragged Armidale, screaming in protest, into the 20th century.
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It began during WWII when Wran, young Gough Whitlam and the late Bill McCarthy served together in the RAAF.
In the late ’50s, Bill won a war service block in Dangarsleigh and by the ’70s, Bill was actively supporting the ALP against the entrenched squattocracy.
Soon after becoming premier, Wran visited Armidale, lobbying Bill to run for the NSW seat of Armidale, now Northern Tablelands.
Bill consulted with trusted local advisers and finally agreed, subject to the condition that Neville do something about getting the voice of urban regional communities heard in the Sydney parliament.
Neville agreed, and invited Bill to bring every concern directly to his (Wran’s) personal adviser for immediate action by the appropriate government agency.
So began what became known as “The Bill and Thel Show”, where the ALP showed local constituents that the NSW government worked for both regional and city voters.
Bill dedicated his life to serving the electorate as the member for Northern Tablelands until his untimely passing.
Subsequently, Thelma stood unsuccessfully for the by-election that was tainted by then remier Barrie Unsworth simultaneously blackmailing the electorate about train services while offending NSW lawyers with personal injury reform.
Three of the many achievements from this period are the Wild Rivers National Park, funding for Armidale High School renovations, and finally the WJ McCarthy Building housing the few remaining NSW government offices.
It would be 12 barren years before independent Richard Torbay MP brought significant government infrastructure spending back to the Northern Tablelands electorate.
Jack Arnold
Armidale
